Edtech Major Byju's To Hold Board Meeting To Approve Delayed FY22 Financials
On Saturday, Byju's said that its plan to present the audited financial results for fiscal year 2022 to its board, advisory council and key investors, including Peak XV Partners and Prosus. These investors had recently withdrawn their representatives from the edtech company's board. The audited results will also be shared with other significant investors.
Byju's is considerably behind schedule, as it is at least 12 months late in filing its FY22 financial results with the Registrar of Companies. This delay has raised concerns among investors and lenders, including those who extended a USD 1.2 billion term loan to the Bengaluru-based company.
Following the departures of Peak XV, Prosus, and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative from the board, Byju's CEO Byju Raveendran and CFO Ajay Goel had assured shareholders in June that the audited results for FY22 would be made available by the end of September, with FY23 results to follow by December.
In a news release, Byju's said that it has scheduled a board meeting in the second week of October 2023 to formally adopt the audited accounts for FY22. The meeting will include the board of directors, the advisory council and selected invitees.
The board advisory council includes former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar and ex-Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, who joined on 13 July to provide guidance on the board's composition and governance structure. With the departure of Peak XV, Prosus, and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the board currently consists of only founder Byju Raveendran, Co-founder Divya Gokulnath and Riju Ravindran.
Byju's had previously faced delays in filing its FY21 financials, which were eventually submitted in September of the previous year. These financials revealed operating revenue of Rs 2,280 crore and a loss of Rs 4,588 crore for FY21. In the prior fiscal year, the company had reported a much smaller loss of Rs 262 crore.
Byju's is in discussions with creditors to resolve disputes related to its USD 1.2 billion term loan and is also engaging with New York-based investor Davidson Kempner Capital. The company is considering selling group assets like Epic and Great Learning to generate cash and clear the term loan. Furthermore, Byju's India CEO Arjun Mohan has initiated measures to reduce costs, including cutting at least 4,500 jobs.
Moving forward, the company intends to focus on profitable businesses within the K-12 and test preparation sectors. Additionally, Byju's is in the process of selecting a new CEO and CFO for Aakash Institute after the previous incumbents, Abhishek Maheshwari and Vipan Joshi, left the brick-and-mortar coaching firm. An executive council has been formed to search for suitable replacements.
